Eberhard Arnold and National Socialism, Part One

Avoiding covert resistance on the one hand and complicity and compromise on the other, Eberhard Arnold guided his community in the face of Nazi threats. They continued to witness to the kingdom of God in Nazi Germany until their expulsion after his death.

What is Government Good For?

Eberhard Arnold

With political chaos rampant, it seems a good time to reflect on why government exists in the first place. More specifically, what answers do we as Christians have to give in this uncertain moment? In this short take from a 1919 essay, Eberhard Arnold addresses these questions.

Is Pacifism Enough?

Eberhard Arnold

Eighteen months after Hitler’s rise to power, Eberhard Arnold warned of the threat of a second major war – and foresaw that the international peace movement, which he had championed, would be powerless to stop it. His reflections remain unsettlingly relevant today.

A Child’s Sympathy for Poverty and Suffering

Eberhard Arnold

“It is not true that children have no feeling for suffering, for the injustice and social guilt of our world…The educator’s task of awakening the child to all humankind accords with a living concern inherent in the child.” Eberhard Arnold discusses the inborn sensitivity of a child toward poverty and suffering.

Eberhard Arnold and Dietrich Bonhoeffer

While studying in England in 1934, Eberhard Arnold’s son Hardy came in contact with the community of German émigrés living in London, including the German pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer. He found that Bonhoeffer had a keen interest in his experience with communal life at the Bruderhof and in Eberhard Arnold’s writings. 

The Courage of Love

Eberhard Arnold

How should the church relate to politics? Eighteen months after Hitler’s rise to power, Arnold spoke about this to members of his community, whose German branch had already been raided twice by Nazi forces. The question was no longer just theory...